Six-Star PSG Cruise Past Dijon Into French Cup Semis
13th February 2020
On Thursday, fourth division side Epinal -- last 16 conquerers of Lille -- will look to continue their stunning cup run going when they host Saint-Etienne.
- Paris Saint-Germain cruised into the semi-finals of the French Cup on Wednesday after thumping Dijon 6-1 in a match that saw the French champions benefit again from comical own goals.
- PSG were ahead just 47 seconds after kick off thanks to Wesley Lautoa shanking Mitchel Bakker's low cross into his own net to the bemusement of his teammates
- Later, Lyon coach Rudi Garcia knocked his former side Marseille out as Houssem Aouar scored an 81st minute winner.
PARIS, France- Paris
Saint-Germain cruised into the semi-finals of the French Cup on Wednesday after
thumping Dijon 6-1 in a match that saw the French champions benefit again from
comical own goals.
PSG were ahead just 47 seconds after kick off thanks to
Wesley Lautoa shanking Mitchel Bakker's low cross into his own net to the
bemusement of his teammates.
It was the second own goal in a week to be scored for PSG,
who also saw Lyon's Fernando Marcal slam a stunning effort past his own
goalkeeper at the weekend.
However the hosts were level in the 13th minute thanks to a
impressive low curling effort from Mounir Chouiar, which squeezed past Kaylor
Navas.
While the away side were far from full strength, with Angel
Di Maria and Mauro Icardi on the bench and Neymar not even in the squad, Thomas
Tuchel's team did include Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani, who was making his
first start in over a month after nearly moving to Atletico Madrid in January.
The Uruguayan was left waiting his 200th goal for the club
in the 21st minute when he turned home Thomas Meunier's cross, only for the
strike to be ruled out for handball by the Belgian after a VAR check.
"It's not that bad because he can score his 200th goal
on Saturday (against Amiens) or Tuesday (against Borussia Dortmund). I can feel
he's there," said Tuchel.
On the match, he added: "I'm happy because we deserved
the victory. It's a huge performance."
Mbappe put PSG ahead a minute before the break, punishing
Jhonder Cadiz's miss when clean through seconds before by clinically slotting
home a similar chance.
Thiago Silva added a third four minutes after the break with
a header from a corner before Pablo Sarabia ended Dijon's resistance by pushing
home his 11th of the season on the rebound.
Senou Coulibaly watched on in horror with five minutes
left when Mbappe's cross looped off his thigh over helpless stopper Runar Alex
Runarsson, before Sarabia tapped home his second in stoppage time from another
Mbappe centre.
Later, Lyon coach Rudi Garcia knocked his former side
Marseille out as Houssem Aouar scored an 81st minute winner.
On Thursday, fourth division side Epinal -- last 16
conquerers of Lille -- will look to continue their stunning cup run going when
they host Saint-Etienne.
They will try to succeed where fellow fourth-tier outfit Belfort
failed following their 3-0 defeat to holder Rennes on Tuesday.